The homework, done for you.

Am I ready to downsize?

Most people don't decide to move in one sitting. They notice a few things, over a year or two, and then one day the house feels like work. These are the questions worth answering honestly, on your own or with the people who love you.

1. How much of the house do you actually use? If it's a kitchen, a bedroom and one chair, you are already living in a suite. You are just heating a house around it.
2. Who does the yard, the gutters, the stairs? If the answer has become a name other than yours, or a worry, that is information.
3. What happens on the night one of you falls? Not the day. The night. Who hears, who comes, how long does it take.
4. How far is the doctor, really? Count the drive, the parking, the walk, the wait. Then imagine it in February, or without a licence.
5. When did you last have people over? Isolation creeps in politely. A building with a breakfast club and a pool has a way of fixing it without anyone making a fuss.
6. If one of you needed daily help, would you have to live apart? In most retirement housing the answer is yes. That is the question to ask every place you tour.
7. What would you keep? Make the list of furniture and things you love. It is usually shorter than the house, and it fits in a two-bedroom suite.
8. What does the house cost you a month, all in? Taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs, the cleaner, the snow. Compare that to one number that includes everything.
9. Are you deciding, or is someone deciding for you? Moving while you are well means you choose the suite, the floor and the view. Moving after a crisis means someone else does.
10. Have you seen one? A tour answers more than a year of wondering.

Home care in Abbotsford.

Care comes to the suite. These are providers that serve Abbotsford, from publicly funded support to private companies.

Getting around without driving.

You do not need a car to live well here. The options:

Fall detection and the medical alert pendant.

Every suite includes Living Well Companion fall detection. Residents who want protection outside the building can add a TELUS Health LivingWell Companion pendant:

• Help 24 hours a day at the press of a button, from a trained operator
• Automatic fall detection that connects you even if you can't press the button
• Two-way voice through the pendant itself, no phone to reach for
• Works beyond your suite, with GPS, Wi-Fi and cellular, on a walk or at a friend's
• Water resistant for everyday activities
• Your family is called, or emergency services are sent, depending on what you need

Meals, groceries and delivery.

Numbers worth keeping by the phone.

• Aging in Place at Mahogany, Corporate Office: 604-226-1754
• Emergency: 9-1-1
• Abbotsford Police non-emergency: 604-859-5225
• Fraser Health Home and Community Care: 1-855-412-2121
• HandyDART: 604-855-0080
• HealthLink BC, 24-hour nurse line: 8-1-1